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Mastering Meat 1

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Beginner’s guide to knife skills

Equipment is key
Invest in a large, solid wooden chopping board. Wood has been the preferred
chopping board material for chefs and butchers since the dawn of time and it’s
no different today. While granite, glass and marble chopping boards may seem
fancier, these surfaces damage the knife blade so avoid them altogether.
The bigger the better. Trying to work on a piece of meat that hangs over the

sides of the chopping board is both cumbersome and unsafe, so make sure your
board is big enough. A large board shouldn’t move around on the tabletop but if
it does, place a damp tea towel underneath it to keep it in one place.
Be sure to dry your knives thoroughly to prevent rusting.
Good quality, sharp knives are a must. If you try and cut meat with a blunt knife,
you’re likely to tear and damage it, causing excessive blood loss from the meat.
Like any decent tool, good quality knives are expensive, but if you look after
them you won’t have to replace them. Look for a knife with sturdy construction
and that has a good weight to it. The best knives are those that have been
forged from a single piece of steel so that the metal runs from the tip of the

blade to the butt of the handle or tang. The steel should run inside the handle
and be solidly attached to it with rivets. The best knives also have a ‘heel’ at the
wide end of the blade to protect your fingers and reinforce the blade.

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